Dear New Zealand government,
Have you forgotten about someone? Perhaps the number sixteen will ring a bell for you. If you have yet to guess it by now, I’m talking about 16-year-olds. They are the youth, and they are the future of our beloved home, New Zealand. Despite this, society labels them as immature, irresponsible, and therefore, irrelevant. I wonder what you label them as? Perhaps you have forgotten about them entirely. Everyone else has. They have all dismissed 16-year-olds as lazy, and indifferent to politics. But let me ask you this: how are they to engage in political affairs if we neither trust, nor encourage them to do so? For our future to be as bright as we want it to be, we must recognize that the youth are the future leaders of the country, and entrusting them with the right to vote empowers them to not merely fill the mold society has created for them, but to take the lead. We urge the New Zealand government to give 16-year-olds the right to vote, for their future, as well as ours.
Voting can be both a blessing and a curse. What would Brexit be—a blessing, or a curse? Among those 65-years-old and above over 64% voted to leave the European Union, while 71% of those who were under the age of twenty-five voted to remain. Can you spot the difference? Let me point it out for you: the majority who voted to leave was the older generation, but the minority who voted to remain was the younger generation. Those who will have to live with the decision longer, are those who did not choose it. 16-year-olds who were not given the opportunity to vote, will have to live with a decision they were not even allowed to make. The government fails to see that the generation who does not have the right to vote, is the generation who needs it the most. A professor of political science and European politics at the LSE, Michael Bruter, stated that if sixteen and 17-year-olds had been allowed to vote, “..it would have almost certainly reduced the advantage of Leave to such a point that the very concept of a majority would have been highly controversial.” Contrary to popular opinion, their votes do make a difference, their opinions are significant, and they are relevant. If the government does not allow them the right to vote, we are denying them the right to choose for themselves the future they want, and deserve. Who are we to deny them of this?
By the way, New Zealand government, have you engaged with the youth recently? Or have you just decided that they are simply too indifferent to politics, merely because of what society portrays them as? The need for youth engagement is as clear as day (however you must have known this already), due to the number of young people who voted in the Auckland Council mayoral election in 2013, as no more than 33% of 18 to 24 year-olds took part in voting. Obviously, this is an issue that is yet to be addressed by the government, however it must be on their list of priorities, since the government should know that young people will only struggle to vote consistently in the future if they lack the practice. In fact, they should also know that giving 16-year-olds the right to vote not only encourages them to partake in elections, but it also encourages them to participate in political events. According to a study done by Elias Dinas of Oxford University, early voting experiences can form long-lasting habits. But how, may I ask, will they learn to take part in politics, if they are restricted from doing so? Thus it is extremely important to start enabling young people to vote now, in order to ensure that they will continue to actively partake in political affairs, in the future. First having 16-year-olds vote in local elections is a step towards the youth being actively involved in current local affairs, New Zealand government. But you knew that already, did you not?
Many may argue that 16-year-olds are simply not mature enough to vote. Some may even protest that they are too inexperienced, and that they are utterly bound to make several, irrational decisions at their age. Perhaps this is why they are ineligible to vote. It then can be assumed that 18-year-olds possess the required wisdom and maturity needed in order to make sensible choices, and thus are allowed to vote. In contrast, 16-year-olds are merely children and have yet to acquire the thorough insight which will be bestowed upon them, as one reaches the golden age of eighteen. Despite this clear oversight, the evidence distinctly demonstrates that they are capable of making such decisions, since currently the law allows them to: drive, get married, join the armed forces, work (and pay taxes). We can trust them with such things, and yet we fail to trust them enough, to allow them to vote. As the government continues to ignore the voices of the youth, the youth in turn will feel that their voices are not worth listening to. If this continues, once they reach the age of eighteen, and they finally have the right to vote–they will not. Because they feel that their votes do not matter, since the government has ignored them before, they assume that their votes will be ignored too. Austria, which allowed 16-year-olds to vote in 2007, has observed that the youth are mature enough to make sensible decisions in voting. When will our government learn to do the same?
We must begin encouraging 16-year-olds – the youth, the future of New Zealand – to engage in political activities. We need to stop ignoring their voices on matters which affect their futures the most. The government of New Zealand should entrust 16-year-olds with the right to vote.
Sincerely,A 16-year-old
A 16-year-old
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